Institutional investors worth £191 billion AUM have filed a shareholder resolution asking fossil fuel firm BP to demonstrate how increased upstream spending will deliver shareholder value.
A coalition of UK and European pension funds including Nest, London CIV, and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund co-filed the shareholder resolution alongside the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR).
It seeks enhanced transparency of BP’s “disciplined approach” to capital expenditure for new oil and gas projects.
The ACCR-led filing means incoming CEO Meg O’Neill now faces two resolutions over the shareholder value of its strategic pivot toward fossil fuels and away from renewable energy investments.
In January, Dutch campaign group Follow This co-filed resolutions for the 2026 AGMs of Shell and BP with 23 institutional investors requesting both companies disclose strategies for creating shareholder value under scenarios of declining oil and gas demand.
The filings follow the UK-listed firm’s 2025 strategic “reset” which increased upstream spending by 17% to approximately US$10.5 billion annually, contributing to a 75% allocation of total capital expenditure to oil and gas, up from 60% in previous years.
ACCR research found that BP’s total shareholder returns have lagged behind both the market and its peers over three, five, ten, and 15-year periods. Shareholders contend the firm’s pivot will not address the firm’s long-term under-performance, noting that conventional oil and gas investments over the last six years created only $0.9 billion in value from $22 billion in capital.
The resolution directs BP to disclose specific criteria used in its investment framework in time for its 2027 AGM, requesting detailed information on project cost-competitiveness, accounting for cost overruns and delays, and the value of exploration expenditure.
“BP has underperformed for the past decade, including the period they were prioritising oil and gas production. Now they have dropped their renewables strategy, investors need to be reassured that any expansion to their upstream oil and gas portfolio will be governed by robust capital discipline and generate sustainable returns,” said Diandra Soobiah, Director of Responsible Investment at Nest.
At BP’s 2025 AGM, 24% of shareholders voted against the re-election of BP Chair Helge Lund – on grounds of a lack of consultation over weakened climate commitments.
